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The non-renewal of Uber’s licence is the first step in what is bound to be a long legal battle and has come as something of a surprise. Transport for London has long been accused of being supine in relation to Uber, ignoring its numerous contraventions of the regulations and complaining that its hands were tied. However, Uber sloppiness and light touch oversight of its drivers has now proved...

The Garden Bridge project is dead. At last. Its death has rather been like watching a great ship sink ever so slowly beneath the waves. In truth, its demise has been inevitable ever since Sadiq Khan became mayor and, in particular, asked Margaret Hodge to produce a report on the state of the project which turned out to be so damning. It was, in truth, neither a garden nor a...

So the not so great repeal bill got through the Commons with a majority of 36. It is disappointing that there were a few Labour rebels but in truth, as an editorial in the Evening Standard (ed: Geo Osborne) surprisingly recognised, the party is united behind the need to ensure there is the least possible damaging Brexit. Osborne wrote, before the vote, that the small number of rebels showed...

One of areas where the Labour manifesto needs improvement is transport. It is rarely a frontline area at election time, and although the nationalisation of the railways proved a popular pledge, there was little on how Labour could make a decisive shift towards a more environmentally friendly policy that would also improve people’s journey experience. Cycling received barely a mention, and among Labour activists it is often thought that...

Ever since the creation of Railtrack, Network Rail’s predecessor, there have been calls for the rail industry to seek new forms of funding for projects. In the days of the Strategic Rail Authority in the late nineties, there was an attempt to establish Special Purpose Vehicles, essentially joint ventures between various companies and Railtrack to produce enhancements but the idea foundered on insurance issues, lack of enthusiasm from Railtrack...

About Christian Wolmar

Christian Wolmar is an award winning writer and broadcaster specialising in transport and is the author of a series of books on railway history. In the autumn of 2012, he announced he is seeking the Labour candidacy for the 2016 London mayoral election. Read more >>.